New Doublecut Junior Tribute Bass update

[Dave W]

I thought these came with a different gig bag. Maybe they ran out. At the price you all paid, hard to complain.

It looks like somebody literally figured out how to jam an EB pickup into a TB Plus cover by flipping it over. Maybe they didn't think the EB pickup looked right? To me it seems like a nice clever hack to get a particular sound and appearance without the cost of manufacturing any new parts.

The EB pickup polepiece spread is wider than the string spacing of these, it wouldn't look right. But the magnetic field is covered, so the pickup works fine.

[westen44]

The first time in a long time that I opened up a box and the bass had absolutely no problems at all.  This is really nice.  I had a friend who tried hard to convince me to get a Mustang instead.  I'm sure Mustangs are fine.  They've even been used on important recordings.  But I definitely prefer the Gibson, especially now that I know what it feels like to play and what it sounds like for real and not just on You Tube videos. 

[patman]

Agreed about setup

Harmonics were close

Just had to tighten the rod a bit and lower the bridge a tad.

Didn't have to touch the nut...

[ajkula66]

Mine has just arrived...

Very dry fingerboard and sharp fret ends, other than that a very cute little bass. Now that I've finally had a chance to briefly test it in my normal environment, I'd venture a guess that it's a keeper, presuming that nothing structural turns out to be out of whack.

Will update once I'm somewhat done setting it up...

[ajkula66]

And...it's going back....

Fretboard is separating from the neck on both sides in the first fret area. Unacceptable on a brand new instrument, regardless of the price range.

[Dave W]

That's disappointing.

[Rob]

Too bad.

[Grog]

And...it's going back....

Fretboard is separating from the neck on both sides in the first fret area. Unacceptable on a brand new instrument, regardless of the price range.

That’s a bummer! The frets on mine are really sharp also. When I was trying out the LP Special version at GC, I noticed the same thing on that guitar. I mentioned it to the tech, he took out a big block set up to file the fret edges & it felt great after just a few minutes. When I go pick up my case mid week, I’ll try to get the guy to do the same on my bass.
Also, mine had a slight neck dive with the nylon strap that was included. I installed my usual strap locks & 2” leather strap & it sits nice. I’ll give it a long workout next week.......

[FrankieTbird]

My fret ends are slightly sharp, a little more so on the treble side, but no worse than I expected.  I did a quick setup on the bridge, huge difference!  Look at the before and after, the intonation was way off.  Sucks that the string windings sit on the saddles though, I may have to get one of those bar extender thingies.


BEFORE  
AFTER

[patman]

Ok...gig report...

In a big room (200+bar) it sounded really good.

Much less "woof" than my 2013 EB, probably due to pickup spacing.  Was a true plug and play kind of experience. Noticeably more "Fenderish" due to the pickup being in the sweet spot, I guess. More fun to play than the 5 string, also. Much lighter, also.

Still need the 5 string for some tunes in the keys that we do them in...

Very happy overall.

[westen44]

Ok...gig report...

In a big room (200+bar) it sounded really good.

Much less "woof" than my 2013 EB, probably due to pickup spacing.  Was a true plug and play kind of experience. Noticeably more "Fenderish" due to the pickup being in the sweet spot, I guess. More fun to play than the 5 string, also. Much lighter, also.

Still need the 5 string for some tunes in the keys that we do them in...

Very happy overall.

That sounds like quite a good report.  I like the way it sounds.  I also was pleasantly surprised that it turned out to be lighter than expected. 

[ajkula66]

Well, according to the rep from ZZ Sounds who responded to my exchange inquiry, "the item is currently discontinued" and I was offered a choice between a refund, and providing pictures of the damage to possibly get a credit and keep the bass "as-is". Refund it is, then...

[westen44]

These basses will be gone with the wind soon.  The only color left at the $549 price is ebony.  I'm tempted to buy one of those, too.  That's what happened a few years ago when I bought a Hofner Contemporary.  Several weeks later, they dropped the price of the Cavern Contemporary to $549.  So i bought one of those, too.  Once the price gets that low, a bass can become really tempting to me.  Of course with a bass or anything else, there will always be some lemons.  It's happened to me before, too, and I can sympathize.  The only time I ever had to return something was to Sweetwater once and they were fine about it.  I also had a problem once with MF, but that was a shipping problem I had to work out with UPS.  The refund took a long time, but I got it. 

[Grog]

They are selling quick! Guitar Center claims on their web site to be able to ship all four colors (store stock?) while Musicians Friend only has it available in cherry. I thought they shared the same stock. A salesman at the store claimed that they had guitars and stock exclusive to them, not available at MF.

[Dave W]

Well, according to the rep from ZZ Sounds who responded to my exchange inquiry, "the item is currently discontinued" and I was offered a choice between a refund, and providing pictures of the damage to possibly get a credit and keep the bass "as-is". Refund it is, then...

I don't blame you under the circumstances, I'd do the same.

Not surprised that they're discontinued, along with the guitar models.

They are selling quick! Guitar Center claims on their web site to be able to ship all four colors (store stock?) while Musicians Friend only has it available in cherry. I thought they shared the same stock. A salesman at the store claimed that they had guitars and stock exclusive to them, not available at MF.

The GC salesman is full of it. Everything comes out of the same warehouse. GC stores may have some left in stock though.